


Coming Home for Christmas

by RedSpeedy7



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Adorable Bruce Banner, F/M, Natasha Romanov Is Not A Robot, Natasha Romanov Needs a Hug, natasha romanov - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:55:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28117302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RedSpeedy7/pseuds/RedSpeedy7
Summary: Natasha was called away on a mission and missed the Avenger's Christmas festivities.Bruce is there to cheer her up.
Relationships: Bruce Banner & Natasha Romanov, Bruce Banner/Natasha Romanov
Comments: 3
Kudos: 21
Collections: Brucemas 2020





	Coming Home for Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: This is part of Brucemas 2020 It's a day late and I know, but life was really busy with work and college. I hope you'll enjoy this anyways.
> 
> Prompt: Hugs
> 
> Special Thanks to my best friend/ hot chocolate-lover muffinmiri!
> 
> This is for my friend Brian, who is the best rp Bruce in the hole wide world and Krilgarin because she puts up with all our BruceNat shenanigans.

The world was illuminated by millions and millions of lights. Small fairylights, strung across the sleek walls and railings of the Avengers tower, candles burning dangerously low on pine trees, orbs floating through the air on Stark repulsor-tech immersed the balcony in a glow that cornered on the fantastical. 

Natasha sat in one of the recliners, legs tucked under her and a soft red blanket wrapped around her shoulders. She watched as her breath etched fog clouds into the crisp December night. 

She had missed the team's Christmas party because her mission had gone terribly wrong and the redhead didn't feel ready to go back inside yet. Her mind was wound up, her muscles tensed and Natasha was ready to break any minute now. 

Dried blood still stained her hands and some of her hair had been singed away during the explosion. Hydra had infiltrated an abandoned shield base in upstate New York and Natasha was tasked with investigating the incident. The mission was supposed to be simple, go in, gather the information and get out, but of course it was never that simple. 

Hydra had been prepared for a spy and as Natasha was downloading files onto a hard drive, a silent alarm went off. The base self-destruction protocol activated and she barely made it out alive. To add insult to injury she had lost her com so there was no way she could contact the others. 

It was a stark contrast to the picture she had found while looking through the glass front that separated the agent from her teammates.

There was a faint, sad smile on her lips. Tony was sprawled out on the floor, cuddling what looked like Mjölnir and the God of thunder snored loudly only a few paces further into the room. The big leather couch was occupied by Steve and Clint. The archer was curled up on the soldiers left, his head resting comfortably on the blonde's legs and Steve had probably been too polite to move and wake up Clint. Empty bottles and glasses were spread all over the room. The only one she couldn't spot was Bruce.

“They celebrated Christmas alright” Natasha thought dryly.

Seeing them like this made the Black Widow angry. They looked like they hadn't even worried about her, like they didn't care if she was there to celebrate with them or not. 

This party had been her idea, their first Christmas as a team and now she was the outsider, bloodstained, alone and cold, like she would never fit in with these people. 

Her training in the “Red Room” had taken so much from her, turned her inside out, torn her mind apart and left her body to bleed. The guilt of her past actions came rushing back to her and Natasha had to swallow hard and bite back tears. 

The lights made it worse as they danced across the walls, blinking cheerily as if they were mocking her. Little reminders that this should be her home, that she should feel save here, curled up and tipsy with her friends in the warmth of the tower's living-room but instead she sat outside in the cold, to afraid of what she had missed, too wound up and stuck inside her own mind. 

The sound of a sliding door tore Natasha away from her darkness and back into the here and now. 

“There you are.” Bruce Banner smiled and Natasha could hear the relief in his voice. “And here I thought you would actually miss the party.” 

“Well it looks like I already did.” she answered and looked up. His eyes were surprisingly warm when they met hers. His expression was a mix between a worried frown and a smile, like he couldn't quite believe that she was really sitting there. 

“They tried to stay up, but Thor brought some sort of asgardian liquor and well.” He waved a hand framing the scene that had greeted Natasha when she returned to the tower.   
“The stuff is deadly, even Steve got drunk.” Bruce let out a soft chuckle and handed her a steaming mug. “You looked like you could need this. I'm sorry it took so long to get out here”

As Natasha curled her fingers around the cup she inhaled the scent of chocolate and burnt marshmallows. “You made me hot chocolate?” she asked in disbelieve. No one had ever made hot chocolate just for her. 

Bruce nodded sheepishly and smiled. He rubbed the back of his neck and gave a shrug. “I thought you should have at least something christmas-y today and...” he stopped and looked at her.   
“And... I was really worried about you.” 

Natasha laughed a little and shook her head. “I am the Black Widow, it's not like anybody needs to” but before she could continue Bruce interrupted her. 

“NO! Natasha you don't get it! I am always worried about you! I know you are a super spy, but you are still human! You can get hurt... you could get killed for gods sake! The thought of you not coming back? It nearly kills me every time, so you don't get to tell me that no one needs to worry about you.” Bruce took a shaky breath and it was then Natasha noticed how dishevelled he looked. 

“I will always worry about you because loosing you; I don't think I could survive that.” he continued, softly this time and the agent felt warmth settling into her body. 

A soft, happy smile tugged at her lips. “How much of that liquor did you have?” she asked amused, a bit of her spark returning to her eyes. 

“More than I should.” Bruce admitted. 

Natasha set the mug down on the ground and pulled him into a tentative hug. The scientist froze for a moment but slowly returned the embrace. She breathed him in and finally felt the tension of the past hours leave her body.

“I will always come back to you, Bruce.” she whispered and something between them shifted in a way that felt right, like a missing puzzle piece had fallen into place. 

“You better.” he answered “can we stay like this for a bit longer?” 

Natasha just nodded and scooted over so he could join her on the recliner and make himself comfortable. There they stayed curled up together. 

The world around them was illuminated by millions and millions of lights and finally they felt like home.


End file.
